A bipartisan state legislative coalition killed an amendment late Tuesday to this year’s School Finance Act that would have taken millions away from the state’s charter schools.

The amendment, proposed during House debate by Rep. Debbie Benefield, D-Arvada, would have cut funding for at-risk students by approximately $4.5 million.

Benefield justified her amendment, telling the House she ran it “because I can,” with her backers saying the amendment addressed concerns that the state’s current funding formula does not properly define “at-risk.” Benefield maintains that the current formula awards schools money disproportionate to the actual number of at-risk students they serve.

It’s at least good to see that sensible members on both sides of the statehouse aisle thwarted the attempt to take money from public charter schools by changing labels of which students are “at-risk” and which are not.

However, like many of her Democratic colleagues, Rep. Debbie Benefield has been a consistent opponent of true parental choice in public education – though her remarks haven’t been as strident or as infernal as some.